The first full week of baseball is in the books, and boy were there some great performances. You have the stars and the sleeper players that you don’t hear about much performing at elite levels. These guys should continue to produce, so keep starting them in your fantasy leagues.

Matt Kemp, CF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Kemp has been tearing the cover off the ball since the season began and his contributions have the Dodgers sitting atop the National League with a 9-1 record. Yeah, his numbers are that good—triple crown good in fact. He’s leading the National league with an astonishing .487 batting average, six homeruns and 16 runs batted in for the Dodgers. It won’t be long before pitchers start to just give up and intentionally walk him.

Josh Willingham, OF, Minnesota Twins

The Twins acquired Willingham during the winter, and he has already proved his worth after just a little more than a week’s worth of at bats. The former Athletic is leading the American League with four homeruns and he’s also hitting .419 which ranks second in the American League. Willingham’s average will slowly creep down as everything levels out, but his power numbers won’t drop much.

J.D. Martinez, OF, Houston Astros

You didn’t think an Astro would make an appearance on this list, did you? Well, Martinez has had one of the hottest bats in the National League over the past week. Not many baseball fans bothered to watch the Astros last year, but the few people that did, discovered that Martinez has a power bat. J.D. is hitting .371 which is third in the National League; to go along with three homeruns and 10 runs batted in for an Astro’s lineup that doesn’t pose much of a threat. Keep an eye on this young Astro, as his name will start to become a hot commodity.

Andre Ethier, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Matt Kemp wouldn’t be having the type of season he’s having if Etheri wasn’t producing like he is. Yeah you look at his batting average and it’s .289, but his 15 runs batted in isn’t something to sneeze at. The big thing for Ethier will be to stay healthy for the entire 162 game marathon because he’s prone to getting injured and never coming back the same way. It’s worth noting that he is also in a contract year; whatever that means to him.

Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas Rangers

Hamilton is also in the midst of a contract year, and his numbers are telling us that he wants a massive contract this offseason. Hamilton is hitting .390 with an American league leading four homeruns. All that offseason stuff clearly hasn’t affected him which should be scary for the rest of the American League.

Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs

Castro isn’t going to drive many runs in with the guys he has around him, but he’s still going to hit for a high average. Castro is hitting .359, sixth in the National league, but he has also stolen six bases. Castro has a bright future ahead of him; it’s just a matter of getting the right guys around him for his stats to look good.

Chris Young, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

Young was basically in a situation where he had to have a hot start to the year, or he could lose his job to Gerardo Parra. Young has exceeded those expectations and could be well on his way to an all-star season if he keeps producing like he has been. He’s hitting .364 with four homers and 11 runs batted in, leading the Diamondbacks to a great start.

Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers

Kinsler and Hamilton have the Rangers off to a hot start. Many players become lazy after signing a contract, but Kinsler is the complete opposite. He signed a contract last week, and he continues to produce, so that shouldn’t be a problem. The Rangers slugging second basemen is hitting .268, but has smacked four homeruns and has driven in seven runs.

Major League Baseball games are back. Madison Bumgarner, who threw the last pitch of the 2014 season 125 days ago for the Giants in Game 7 of an unforgettable World Series against Kansas City, is scheduled to start for the defending champs against Oakland at 3:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday in one of the first five scheduled Spring Training openers between Major Leag […]